Start near on 200-bed assisted-living facility

Friday

Dec 7, 2012 at 2:00 AM

TOWN OF WALLKILL - A Westchester developer aims to start construction of a 200-bed assisted-living residence early next year. FilBen Development LLC of Rye Brook plans to provide 200 beds in one- and two-bedroom units, including 80 beds for Medicaid recipients. The four-story building will encompass 130,000 square feet on six acres at the intersection of Riverside Drive and Rykowski Lane, off Crystal Run Road. The project has been in the works for about three years.

James Walsh

TOWN OF WALLKILL — A Westchester developer aims to start construction of a 200-bed assisted-living residence early next year.

FilBen Development LLC of Rye Brook plans to provide 200 beds in one- and two-bedroom units, including 80 beds for Medicaid recipients. The four-story building will encompass 130,000 square feet on six acres at the intersection of Riverside Drive and Rykowski Lane, off Crystal Run Road. The project has been in the works for about three years.

The company is seeking to finance the project with $36 million of tax-free bonds to be issued by the Orange County Funding Corp., said Richard Filaski, managing director of the FilBen Group, the parent company of FilBen Development.

Orange County's Industrial Development Agency on Wednesday reaffirmed its decision made last year to provide the developer with property, sales and mortgage-tax abatements. Property taxes on improvements will be gradually phased in over 10 years.

IDA members also serve as directors of the Orange County Funding Corp., a local development corporation created by the county Legislature. The bonding counsel has requested more financial details before the bonds will be issued.

During an October public hearing about the project held by the Orange County Funding Corp., Kevin Dowd, the IDA attorney, said neither the county, the funding corporation, nor the IDA would bear financial responsibility for repayment.

The FilBen Group operates three skilled nursing facilities in Queens and an assisted-living residence in Suffolk County, Filaski said Thursday.

Wallkill's site, brokered by R.J. Smith, a Republican county legislator and real estate broker from Pine Bush, appealed to FilBen because of its proximity to the "Miracle Mile" of medical businesses, dominated by Orange Regional Medical Center and Crystal Run Healthcare.

"The area has been developed with a medical influence, and we believe it will be a good fit," Filaski said. "We're excited to be in that area; we're looking forward to getting started and being part of the community."